Customs: Man's underpants load of heroin worth $61,000

NEW YORK, April 8 (UPI) -- Customs officers in New York said a man entering the country from Colombia was found to be hiding $61,000 worth of heroin in the crotch of his underwear.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Colombian citizen Ivan Rodrigo Vidal Forero arrived April 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport on a flight from Bogota, and officers conducting a search of his body found two cylinders containing a brown powdery substance in the groin area of his underwear.

The substance tested positive for heroin. Customs officials said the about 2 pounds of heroin has an estimated street value of more than $61,000.

"This seizure is just another example of our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of these illicit drugs," said Robert Perez, director of CBP's New York Field Operations.

Vidal Forero was arrested on federal narcotics-smuggling charges.